Ignition switch



Pet). 28, 1928.

w. HEMINGWAY, JR IGNITION SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed pril 28, 1924 amp oz lsonfiem tray J:

Feb. 28, 1928.

w. HEMINGWAY, JR

IGNITION SWITCH I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ori inal Filed pril 28, 1924 gnuenfoz Wilson, 1516 mgzpag,

hatented Feb, 28,1928.

ronnr'roiv or MISSISSIPPI.

VJILSON HEMINGWAY, an, or PHILADELPHIA,

ELECTROLOCK MANUFACTURING company,

' Ie-NI'rIon swI'rcn.

. r a are.

PENNSYLV ma, 'nssieuon we ran on vroxsn RG, irrssrssrrrrn A sea Original application filed ApriL 2 8, 19251, Serial No. 709,695. Divided and this application filed March 18,

- 1925. Serial No. 16,509. I Y j The principal purpose of this invention is to provide more efficient and dependable theft protection for automobiles by making it practically a physical impossibility. for the owner or operator to Switch 0d the ignition system in' stopping the motor without first actuating an autotmatic lock mechanism associated with the switch and functioning, in locked position, toprevent reestablish- '10 ment and use of the ignition system except by a person having a proper'key. .7

To this end the invention consists essentially in the provision of a main switch included in the ignition system in such manner as to afford the sole means of connection and disconnection between the source of current supply and the remaining components of the system such as the coils, spark plugs, etc.

- WVhen, as in the present instance,'the inven-l 29 tion is applied .to ignition systems of the Ford automobile type, there is pgovided, in addition to the inain switch, an auxiliary or selective switch which is operable to positions including either the battery or the magneto in the system as the efiective' source of current supply but which has no intermediate or olf position. Thisselective switch merel serves, therefore, as a means for sub-' stituting the battery and the magneto for one another as the effective source of current supply for the ignition system, and includes no. provision for breaking ordisrupting-, the ignition system in view of the fact that the switch has no open or intermediate. posi-' tion.

Other purposes, advantages and characteristic' features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed'description and accompanying draw- 4o'ings; wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an ignition system including my improved switch mechanism.

Fig.2 is a longitudinal sectional view of 46 the. switch mechanism.

- Fig. 3 is a front elev disclosed in Fig. 2, and I Fi dis a transverse-vertical section on the hue 4-4- of Fig. 2. I 1

'Referring more particularly to the Switch structureillustrated in Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, reference character 5 designatesa casing which is preferably composed 0 tion of the structure hardened steel or other metal difficult to cut or drill through in an effort to obtainaccess to the interior of the casing. This casing is closed at one end by an inserted metal knob 6 which is securely anchored to one extremity of a cable 7 which afl'ords a housing for the conductor 8. The knob 6 is in abut- 6o. ting engagement with one side of a ring 9 fastened to the inner wall of the casing by suitable pins 10. Fitting the opening in the ring9 and threaded on to a neck 11' formed integral with the knob 6, is a clamping nut 1 12 equipped with a flange 13 bearing against the inner side of the ring. It is thus evi-' dent that the threaded. engagement 'of the nut 12 with the neckllserves to clamp the flange 13 and knob 6 against the. opposite sides of ring 9 whereby said knob andcable '7 are se'curedly fastened to the casing, A

screw 14 threaded through the nut 12 and: terminating in a smooth tip or stem 15 enterin asuitable socket16 formed in'the knob 6 serves to lock the knob and nut against relative rotation necessary to-separation thereof. The end of the conductor 8, shown in Fig. 2,-extends through the neck Ill and termiso nates in an enlarged flat head 17 resting "against the inner end of the neck and contacting with a copper disc 18., The disc 18 is contained within an insulating ring 19' 'whichserves 'as a spacer between the nut 12 and an: insulating block 20' carrying a pair of contacts 21 and 22. The contact 21 is 1 made suificiently long to, extend entirely through theblock 20' and to vproject beyondone face of the blockintoengagement-with 0 the disc 18. At the opposite face ofthe block 20, the contact 21- 1s secured by a screw .23 to one end of a contact strip 24. The op posite endjof the contact strip 24 is secured to'a second insulating block25 spaced from 5 the insulating block20 by an interposed tu-Q. bularjinsulating shell 26. .Secured to the 1 finsulating block 25 at a point directly 'oppositethe attached end of the contact'stri-p 2A is a second contact strip 27 having. one end loo grounded to the metal casing 5.- The re-" maining contact 22 of the insulating block 20 is threadedly secured tothe inner; end of I a binding post28. This post extends laterfa'lly through the block 20 and throu r h an inf sulating'bushing 29 in the wall o the cas- 5 ing and is equipped at its outer end with binding nuts 30.

Between the contacts 21 and 22, the insulating block is hollowed out to provide a socket 31 in which is slidably received one end of a tubular reciprocating stem 32 composed of suitable insulating material and hollowed out to provide a bore 33 housing a coil spring 34 having one extremity bearing against the inner closed wall of the bore and the. other extremity bearing against the opposing or bottom wall of the socket 31 so that the spring, when under compression as shown in Fig. 2, has a normal tendency to shift, the stem 32 to the left from the position shown. At an intermediate pointthe stem 32 is widenedto provide surfaces 35 and 36 sloping downcasing 37 open at its inner periphery and containing a coil spring 38 surrounding and closely embracing the stem. In the position shown in F igiu 2 the movable contact 37 is in a position bridging the contacts 24 and 27 of the block 25 so that the conductor 8 is grounded through the disk 18 and. contacts 21, 24, 37 and 27 to the metallic wall of the casing 5 for a purpose to be hereinafter setforth. In order to shift the contact 37 to the right to bridge the stationary contacts'21 and 22 it is neces-- sary'th'at the-stem 32 be permitted to move face of the casing and its innerend flush to the left under the influence of the spring 34 until the central or widest portion of the stem has passed through the coiled spring 38 at which time the gripping or squeezing action of the spring, acting in conjunction with the inclined surfaces 36 will serve to.

cause the movable contact 37 to snap or travel to the right relatively to the stem so as to engage the contacts 21 and 22. In this .second position of the movable contact ,37 it will be understood that the conductor 8 is connected through disk 13, con tacts 21, 37 and 22 to the'binding post 28.

In the position of parts shown in Fig. 2

the stem .32 isheld against movement to the left by engagement with the inner end of a lock barrel 40. This barrel. fits slidably within "an annular metal shell 41 secured in the caslng 5 by means of a transverse pin 42 having its outerend flush with the outer surwitlfthe inner surface of the shell 41. This pm is widened intermediate its length to .provide a shoulder 43 bearing against the inner-wall of the casing 5 andserving to .prevent'the pin from being drawn outwardly through the opening formed in the casing. The p nfi's' prevented from being driven in:

. U r i wardly through its opening by reason of the fact that the inner end of the pin engages the barrel 40. I Sliding movement of the barrel within the shell 41 is limited by a stop pin 43 carried by the shell 41 and casing 5 and having its inner end entering an elongated recess formed in the outer surface of the barrel. The ,barrel 40 contains a suitable locking mechanism including a retractable spring pressed bolt 44 adapted to automatically enter an opening 45 in the shell 41 when. the lock barrel is in inner position disclosed in Fig. 2.. When, by means of the key 46, the bolt 44 is retracted from the opening 45, the spring 34 will actto move both the stem 32 and the lockibarrel to the insulated post of the magneto 51', the remaining terminal of the magneto being grounded. 52 designates an actuating stem having cylindrical end portions slidably mounted in suitable'openings formed in opposite walls of the casing 47, the "intermediate portion ofthe stem being widened to provide oppositely sloping surfaces 53 and 54. The movable contact of this switch is of the same type as that disclosed in connection with the first switch and comprises a ring shaped casing 55 open at its inner periphery and housing a coiled spring 56 closely embracingthe stem 52, as shown. In the arrangement of parts disclosed in Figs. 3 and 4, the movable. contact is in-engagement with the left hand wall of the casing 47 and serves to bridge the contacts 49 and 48. Movement of the stem 52 to the left from the position shown will cause the inclined portion 53' of the stem to travel through the spring 56 until the central portion of the stem has passed to the left of the spring at which time the gripping action of the spring on the oppositely inclined surface 54 will cause the movable contact to snap or travel to the right into engagement with the right hand wall of the casing 47 so as to bridge the contacts 51 and 50. The contacts 48 and 50 are connected by suitable leads 48 to the aforementioned binding post 28, being'clamped to the binding post through the medium of the nuts 30. In practice, the switch mechanism of my invention is embodied in a system of distribution as shown to advantage in Fig, 1. In this figure, it will be noted that the end,of the cable 7 op- I posite that secured to casing is anchored secured to a contact plate 61 fastened to the within the neck 57 of a metal plate 58 which is secured to the underside of a wooden strip The other termin l of this winding is connected through the vibrator 65,' lead 66, con tacts 67 and 68 and lead 69 to one of the stationary contacts 70 of the timer 71. One

' terminal of the secondary winding of each coil is connected by lead contacts 73 and 74 and lead 75 to one of the spark plugs 7 6. When the movable contacts of the selective switch 47 and the mainswitch 5 are in the f position shown in Figs. land ,4, respectively, the battery "49' is included in the system as the effective source of supply for the induc tion coils. Current from the battery passes through the contacts 49, 55, and 48, to the binding post 28 of the main switch. 'From the binding post 28 the current passes through the contacts 22, 37 and 21 and copper disk 18 to the conductor 8 through which it flows into the primary winding of the coil.-

- When it is desired to shift from the battery to the magneto this is accomplished by forcing the stem 52to the left from the position.

shown in .Fig. 4 so as to cause themovable 7 contact 55 to travel to the right to av position bridging the contacts 5.0and 51. In this second position of the selective switch, current is supplied from the magneto 51 2 through contacts 51,55 and to the binding post 28 of, themain' switch through which the current is delivered to the coils as previously set forth. When it is desired to dis-- rupt the ignition systemthe lock barrel 40 is pushed inwardly from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fi 2 thus causing the stem 32 to travel to the right un-' til the,inclined surface 36 of the stem has passed through or to the right' of spring 38 clined surface 35 will cause the springto travel or snap to the left, thus breaking the connection betweenthe contacts 21 and 22 at which time thepressure of the s ring on the stem, acting in conjunction wit the inand interrupting the supply of current to the coils, When. the movable contact 37 of the switch is in the position shown in Fi 2 it will be noted, as previously set forth t at the conductor 8 is grounded tothe metal casing fi- The purpose of grounding the conductor8 and-the coils in this manner in the open'positionof the switch 5 is to prevent any possibility of current being supplied to i the contact piate 61 for the purpose of energizing the coils.

The switch 5 is constructed in such man! ner that when the lock barrel 40 is moved inwardly from the position shown in Fig.1 to the position shown in Fig. 2 the bolt 44 will automatically enter the opening I 45 a second or two before the spring 38 acts to break the connection between the contacts 22 and 23. In this way the switch is locked against retrograde movement at .an -1ntermediate point in its actuation from closed to open position so that there is no POSSl-n- I bility of disrupting the ignition system without first setting in operation the lock mechanism which prevents reestablishmen't and use of the system except by persons hav-r ing the proper key.

This application covers a division ofthe subject matter disclosed in "my co-pending" application #709695 filed April 28, 1924.

While in, the foregoing I have'described. what I now consider to be the preferred eminvention it is to be underbodiment of m stood that various changes in the construction, co mbination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to within the scope of, the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described,

comprising selective means for closing'either of two electric circuits, said means having no intermediate posltion of rest and being at all times when at rest in connected relationto one or the other of said circuits to close the same, a member for-controlling both circuits, a movable locking element, and means whereby as a result of the movement of the said locking element into locking position movement of the said member is efiected to, open the said circuits.v

2. Ina device of the character described,

the combination of a locking element,a circult controlling. member always in operative position when at rest with reference to one;

of two available circuits, and an inaccessihie. actuating member adapted to open both said" circuits independently of sai member into osition to efiect opening of both circuits eing efiected as a result of movement'of the said locking element into locking position. v

I 3. In a, device of the character described, the combination of a-housing, a movable locking element mounted inv said housing, a member adapted to moved ifio two posiv controlling .member, movement of the said actuating.

tions of rest, said member having no intermediate position of'rest, and the said memher being at all times when at rest in con-=' nected relation to one of two electric circuits' to close the same, means for opening both of said circuits, and an inaccessible member adapted to cause movement of said mea'nsinto position to open both of the said circuits upon movement of said locking element into locking position.

4. A device of the character described, comprising selective means for closingv'either ,of two electric circuits, the said means being said switch, which actuating means is adaptedto be moved into position to eflect opening of the saidswitch upon movement of the said-locking element into locking position.

5. In a device of the class described, a housing having a locking element, a circuit controlling member always in operative position with reference to one of two available circuits, and an inaccessible actuating member controlled entirely by the manual operationof said locking element, said actuating member being arranged to open both said circuits inde endently of said circuit controlling mem er when said. locking element is moved to locking position.

6. In a device of the class described, a housing having a locking element, two circuits associated therewith, a member actu- -able simultaneously with the actuation of said locking element to unlocking position for rendering said circuits available for In testimony ignition purposes, and a circuit controlling member movable only from one circuit to ing both said circuits.

8. In combination with a quick snapover switch, auxiliary electrical circuit-closing contacts, and an insulated m ember associated with said auxiliary circuit contacts whereby said auxiliary" circuit is opened and closed by the movement of said member.

9. In combination with a quick snap-over switch having circuit closing contacts, a pair of auxiliary circuit closing contact normally in engagement, an insulating member,

and means for actuating said member forv operating said auxiliary contacts.

1( The combination of an ignition switch having contacts for two circuits, the contacts of one circuit or the other beingalways in engagement to close the respective circuit, a locking mechanismyand a member moved thereby to open the ignition circuit closed by said engaging contacts.

whereof I -hereunto aflix my signature.

WILSON HEMINGWVAY J R. 

